Santa Clarita Water Division approved watering schedule

Watering your lawn every other day and never on Saturday’s became a locally-enforced ordinance Thursday night for Santa Clarita Valley residents who get their water from the Santa Clarita Water Division.

After a lengthy board meeting — with board members complaining about the hardship of maintaining their own green lawns on a limited watering schedule — they voted to endorse a resolution calling for a watering scheduling designed to meet state mandated water regulations.

Eight board members voted in favor of the three-day weekly watering schedule, Ed Colley voted against it and B.J. Atkins abstained.

In the end, despite reservations and fears of Santa Clarita Valley having brown lawns due tolimited watering, board members of the Castaic Lake Water Agency (who serve also as board members of the SCWD) voted in favor of a plan to meet state water demands.

The vote to adopt water restrictions as proposed by the Santa Clarita Valley Water Committee late last month was passed with one consideration — that the list of exemptions for people told to water only three days a week be expanded.

“Other people’s concerns that they’re going to lose their lawn with a three-day watering schedule are valid,” said Colley. “I hope we include more liberal exemptions to include those folks who can demonstrate their commitment to conserving water.”

Board member Bob DiPrimio said: “I think people will lose their lawns and I’m concerned about those residents losing their lawns.”

DiPrimio asked SCWD’s Retail Manager Mauricio Guardado Jr. about the option of just asking people to conserve water.

“We’ve tried that it doesn’t work,” Guardado said.

Late last month, water officials unveiled two proposed landscape-watering schedules — a summer schedule and a winter one — that are expected to be endorsed in the next couple of days by local water agencies charged with enforcing California’s new water-use regulations.

Residents could water their yards only three days a week during the summer schedule — April to October — and two days a week during the winter schedule — November to March. The days of the week would be determined by their addresses.

On Thursday, the board of directors for the Newhall County Water District and the Valencia Water Company are scheduled to vote on a similar ordinance.